Heat of the Moment
by Ronnie and The Professor
Summary: Cisco is kidnapped as bait to lure the Flash by a villain who is determined to kill all meta-humans. In the villain's lair, Cisco discovers a new tool that might be useful in taking down the man in yellow, and Barry discovers that his feelings for Cisco may not be entirely platonic. (Note: This takes place before STAR Team knows that Wells is the Reverse Flash)
1. Chapter 1

Cisco blinked his eyes open. His head throbbed with pain. He lifted his head slowly from its previously slumped position and looked at his surroundings.

He was in a dimly lit room, dirty and gray from years of abandonment. Bits of trash and metal littered the floor, the largest piles of which shoved into corners around machines that were, presumably, out of order. In one of the corners, a mass of flesh sat reeking while flies audibly buzzed around it, bearing a definite resemblance to a human body. Cisco took in a shaky breath.

He tried to move his hands from behind his back, but he could feel thick, plastic zip ties binding his wrists, keeping them trapped to a pipe that ran along the bottom edge of the room's back wall. His feet were bound too, he noted when he tried moving them. He pulled on the pipe, hoping that, in a place this grimy, it might be weak enough for him to break. To Cisco's dismay, the pipe held.

Footsteps thudded above him, creaking closer to a sliver of light across the room from him, which Cisco assumed was a trap-door. He had seen enough horror movies to know what was going to happen next. His heart sped up and he pulled desperately against the zip ties, hoping that by some small miracle they would break.

The hatch opened. Light filtered in, leaving the figure that stepped down into the room a black silhouette. Cisco's whole body was trembling. He stared with wide eyes as the person pulled the overhead door shut.

A dingy fluorescent light flickered on and the person strode over to Cisco. They grabbed his chin with gloved hands and forced him to meet their eyes.

Cisco took in the shadowed face, certain that even if he did survive, he would never forget it. They were a man, early fifties, Cisco guessed. He had two large scars going down the bridge of his nose to the bottom of his jaw, with eyes that were devoid of emotion. His Clint Eastwood scowl made him look more terrifying.

Cisco struggled to pull his head away, but he couldn't break free from the man's iron grip. The man glared for a few seconds more, then let go.

He got up and pulled a video camera out of his pocket. One hundred different scenarios ran through Cisco's mind, all of them bad. The man set it on one of the broken machines, angling it towards Cisco.

"W-what are you doing?" Cisco stuttered, pleased to hear that he only sounded three-fourths as terrified as he really was.

The man ignored him and continued to set up the camera. Cisco tried again, louder this time. "What are y-"

His head was slammed against the wall, causing him to yelp in pain. The man grabbed a fistful of Cisco's hair and yanked upwards. He leaned in closely.

"I only need you to be alive for approximately the next ten minutes," The man growled, his breath hot against Cisco's ear. "Whether or not you continue to live will be determined by your actions. Understand?"

Cisco nodded shakily. He understood that he was to be a model kidnapping victim, which included shutting the hell up. He also understood that he might break his twenty-four year long record of not peeing his pants.

The man released him and went back to the video camera. He pressed a button and Cisco saw the little red light begin to blink. The man walked to Cisco, stopping next to him.

"I am the Exterminator." He told the camera. The name rang a bell in Cisco's mind. He'd heard that name before, but where? "I have taken it upon myself to assist the gods in wiping out the metahuman plight caused by STAR Labs."

Cisco remembered. He'd heard of this guy on the news. He was responsible for several deaths so far, all gruesome, all leaving little to no evidence. Most of the victims were metas, but there had also been a few former STAR Labs employees mixed in. Barry had told him that the CCPD had virtually no leads, other than knowing that it was the same killer.

"Here," he gestured at Cisco, "we have one of their employees who helped create the particle accelerator, which in turn created this plague of defective freaks." The Exterminator crouched next to Cisco and grabbed his hair again, forcing him to look directly into the camera. Cisco winced in pain. "Tell them your name."

"C-Cisco Ramon." The man let go and stood up. Cisco was beginning to think he was due for a haircut.

"Now, Cisco," he hissed, "who's the most well known metahuman in this city? I'll give you a hint: his suit is the same color as your blood." The Exterminator slid a knife out of a sheath attached to his belt and twirled it with his fingers.

"The F-Flash." Cisco stuttered in a small voice, keeping a wary eye on the knife. He was growing more nervous.

"Correct." The man redirected his gaze to the camera. "So, Flash. If you want this boy to live, start looking. You have two hours."

"Don't d-!" Cisco was punched hard by his captor and blinked the stars out of his vision. Blood trickled from his split lip.

"Maybe I should show everyone how serious I am." He growled, glaring at Cisco. He walked to a work bench next to the machines and grabbed something Cisco couldn't quite see.

The Exterminator walked back, pliers now visible in his hands. Cisco's heart was pounding and his eyes widened. He wished he'd kept his mouth shut. The man crouched next to him and used his knife to cut the ties binding his hands. Cisco pushed away from him but the man caught his wrist and yanked him back into the camera's field of vision.

He grabbed Cisco's right hand and brought the pliers to his middle finger, clamping onto the tip.

"No. No, don't. Please! No! No!" Cisco shook his head and breathed heavily, voice growing higher with fear, nearly sobbing the words out. "Stop! Please! NO!"

The Exterminator twisted the tip, bending Cisco's finger back at an odd angle, until splintered bone stabbed through the flesh. Cisco screamed. The man moved the pliers to the nail on Cisco's index finger and tugged. The nail pulled off, strands of skin still connecting it stretched and snapped. "Please stop! Please!" Cisco begged.

"But we aren't done yet." The man's voice was cool and calm. He clamped the pliers onto Cisco's broken middle finger and squeezed hard, repeating the action with the tender nailbed of the next finger. Cisco cried out. His eyes watered and his body shook. "Try it again, and I'll break the rest of your fingers."

Cisco nodded and inhaled shakily. Trying to warn Barry was officially out of the equation. Cisco just hoped that his little attempt hadn't changed the Exterminator's mind about letting him live.

The Exterminator walked to the camera. "See you soon, Flash." He turned it off. "That was a live broadcast, by the way. So, don't expect your little hero to live for long. Yourself either, for that matter, as that outburst just cost you an hour of time your hero would have had to attempt to rescue you."

He re-zip-tied Cisco to the pipe, being purposefully rough with Cisco's wounded hand. He turned off the light and returned to the upper level from the trapdoor. The hatch shut, leaving Cisco in complete darkness.

Cisco rested his head on the wall and blinked back tears. He was alone. He was scared. He would probably die soon. And his fingers hurt like hell.

Cisco wished he was back at the lab, with Caitlin and Barry. Safe, and happy, and not sharing a basement with a corpse.

He really hoped Barry would find him. Then again, the Exterminator wanted the Flash to come there, so obviously the man had some sort of trap waiting. He had already managed to kill several other metas, Cisco thought, so killing one more wouldn't be that hard, would it?

He sighed. Cisco wanted Barry to save him. He needed Barry. But, what if his hero couldn't do it? What if tonight was the last night of their lives? He sat in despair as the minutes flew past.

He guessed about half an hour had passed. The Exterminator would be back down soon if he stayed true to his word, which Cisco had a feeling he would. Where was Barry? It shouldn't have taken him this long to search the entire city. Unless, he thought, they weren't in Central City.

He pictured Barry's face in his mind. His beautiful eyes, his sweet smile. Cisco would probably never get to hear his voice again.

A loud bang from above roused him from his thoughts, like a door slamming open. Muffled shouts accompanied footsteps. Cisco was fully alert now, listening for any indication that it was Barry who had found him.

There were several crashes, then one final thud. Cisco allowed his hope to rise. It remained silent for a few minutes. The trapdoor opened, silhouetting the bottom-half of someone.

"Flash!" Cisco broke into a grin, relief washing over him as the figure descended the steps. The rest of the shadowed person came into view.

Something was wrong. They were carrying a limp body over their shoulder. Cisco's heart stopped.

"...Flash?" The fluorescent light flickered on, revealing the Exterminator's leathery face. "What did you do to him?" The man said nothing as he dumped the body next to Cisco. "What did you do?!" Cisco pulled against his bonds, pain reminding him of his injuries. This earned him another lightning-quick punch to the face, renewing the pain from the first assault.

"Is there a tracking device in that suit?" The Exterminator asked, ignoring Cisco's distress.

"I don't know." Cisco lied.

"Yes, you do." He moved his hand to his knife. "Now tell me."

Cisco felt sweat beading on his forehead. The Exterminator pulled the knife out and let it linger in the air. Cisco remained silent, scared as he was, as a small act of defiance.

The Exterminator narrowed his eyes, then stabbed the knife into Cisco's left shoulder. Cisco screamed through grit teeth.

"Is there a tracking device in the suit?" He twisted the knife, deepening Cisco's pain. It was too much for Cisco.

"Yes!" Cisco hissed, breathing heavily. He backed against the wall as much as he could, frowning at the Exterminator. The man pulled his knife out, wiped the blood on Cisco's shirt, then resheathed it.

He stripped the suit off Barry, leaving him in just his boxers. He set the suit on the ground. Cisco glared at him.

The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a metal choker roughly wrapped in wires. Definitely homemade, Cisco thought. He attached it around Barry's neck, twisting the clasp together with a click. The choker beeped.

"What is that?" Cisco asked, though he could guess the answer. It must have been how the man had managed to kill all of those other metahumans.

"A gift from the gods." The Exterminator had a ghost of a smile. He pulled thick, black zip-ties out of his coat pocket and bound Barry near Cisco on the pipe. He picked up the suit and walked to the stairs, pausing at the bottom. "I'll be back. Enjoy your last moments."

The Exterminator walked up the stairs and shut the trapdoor. _"I'll be back"_ Cisco replayed the line in his mind. More like the ex-Terminator, he thought. Had he not been tied up in a basement next to one of his best friends and about to die, he might've laughed at his own joke.

Cisco turned to Barry. His hand and shoulder throbbed with pain, but it was nothing compared to his concern over Barry's motionless form. At least Barry was still breathing.

Barry scrunched his face and groaned. Squinting, he opened his eyes and tried sitting up from his awkward position on the floor.

"What... Cisco?" His eyes widened. "Oh God, Cisco! I've gotta get you out of here! Are you okay? Hold on, let me just..." Barry tried to use his super speed to vibrate through the ties. Unfortunately, the choker worked exactly as Cisco suspected it might. "What the...?"

"Barry, you can't use your powers. He put a collar on you that dampens them."

"What?! Shit!" Barry pulled somewhat frantically against the zip-ties. "Are you okay? What did he do to you?"

"I'm fine, minus a broken finger and stabbed shoulder." Cisco said, trying to pass it off like it wasn't a big deal despite the pain he felt. "And my face hurts. A lot." He added. Barry's face twisted into horrified shock.

"He stabbed you?! Oh, God. Cisco, I'm so sorry. I should've gotten to you sooner. Where'd that bastard go?"

"I think he's putting the suit somewhere so they can't trace our location. Or destroying it." Barry looked down at himself in confusion, as if noticing his lack of clothes for the first time. Cisco rested his head on the wall. "Dude, what happened up there?"

"I looked everywhere for you." Barry looked into Cisco's eyes and swallowed. "I searched the city thirteen times, top to bottom. But, I couldn't... I couldn't find you." He looked down. "Wells traced the broadcast location to a thirty mile radius. The guy scrambled the signal, it was the best we could do. This place is a condemned tech warehouse, just outside of the city."

That explained the broken machines, and why it took Barry so long to figure it out, Cisco thought. "So, what happened when you got here?"

"I came in to check this place, and he was just waiting. I tried to beat him, but he was smart. Got the jump on me." Cisco nodded his understanding. Barry sighed. "I'm sorry, man. I was just so worried about you, I couldn't think straight." Cisco blushed.

"It's cool. You found me now, that's what counts." He smiled. "But we seriously have to get out of here. That psycho could come back any time now, and if he does, me and you are both dead."

Barry nodded. Cisco looked around, trying to come up with a plan. He was grateful in some ways that The Exterminator had forgotten to turn off the light, but being able to really look at the basement in all its horror was unsettling, especially with the mound of maggoty flesh in the corner. His eyes caught on the metal choker around Barry's neck.

"Hey, Barry, do you think you could get us out of here if I got the collar off?"

"Yeah, man, of course. Is there a way?"

"Yeah," Cisco paused, "but, I don't know what will happen if we get it off."

"You mean, you think it might explode or something?" Barry asked, looking at Cisco.

"Maybe. I don't know." Cisco shrugged. "This guy is crazy, I wouldn't put it past him."

"No way. I've been following this case for months at work. He likes to kill people slowly. Messily. Exploding people isn't his style." Barry smiled as reassuringly as he could. "Besides, I'm willing to take that risk if it means I can get you back safe."

Cisco looked into his eyes. He wasn't sure of this plan, but it was the only one they had.

"Are you sure about this?" His voice shook. Barry nodded his head and gave a small smile.

"Positive."

"Alright, let's do this." Cisco let out a breath and scooted as close to Barry as he could go, the zip-ties preventing him from going far. "I need you to come closer, then lean down so my hands can reach the clasp."

Barry complied. His ties caught on the pipe, preventing him from moving any closer. He was still just a bit too far away for Cisco's bound hands to be able to reach.

"Crap, I'm stuck." A jolt of panic went through Cisco. He reworked the plan in his mind, trying to stay calm.

"Uh, it's fine. It's okay." Cisco scooted forward as far as he could go. "Just lean forward and put your head in my lap. I can try to reach the clasp with my mouth." Barry leaned down and awkwardly followed instructions, placing himself face first into Cisco's crotch.

Cisco had imagined having his friend in a position similar to this before. Many times, actually. However, in those scenarios, they were usually both a little more naked and a little less tied up. Usually.

Cisco tried to ignore the thought, as right now would be an especially bad time for _that_ to happen. He bent down and grabbed the clasp in his mouth, brushing Barry's skin with his lips as he did so. The touch sent shivers down Barry's spine.

"Heh," Barry's muffled voice sounded. "You're pretty flexible there, Cisco."

"Shuh uh, 'arry." Cisco said with the choker in his mouth. He twisted the clasp with his teeth and tongue, almost undoing it. It fell from his mouth, sliding downwards to Barry's collar bone. "Fuck... sit up, it slipped."

Barry sat up, stretching forward so Cisco could reach his neck. Cisco leaned into the crook of Barry's neck where the clasp had slid. His bruised cheekbone pressed uncomfortably into Barry's shoulder as he took the clasp into his mouth again. Cisco could've sworn he saw Barry blushing, but it was probably just the light.

The clasp finally untwisted and the choker fell to the ground. It gave a quick beep. The two men stared at it for a moment, uncertain if it was going to do something more explosive. It stayed silent.

Cisco let out a sigh of relief. He pulled away from Barry just enough to be able to see his face. Barry smiled at him and brought his forehead down to touch Cisco's own. They both started laughing, quiet and somewhat hysterically, but together, happy just to be alive. The laughter died down and they caught their breath.

"Oh my god." Barry sighed, looking into Cisco's dark eyes. "I actually thought we were going to die for a second."

"Me too." Cisco whispered. They went silent. Barry's eyes traveled down Cisco's face, stopping at his lips.

The dirty and terrifying basement wasn't exactly romantic, but Cisco felt the world stop anyway. In the ecstasy of still being alive, Barry began to close the gap, leaning in.

A loud slamming noise came from upstairs. They jumped back from each other, minds fully alert again to the danger they were in.

"Shit!" Barry whispered. He vibrated his wrists through the zip-ties. Footsteps thudded overhead, growing closer to the trapdoor.

Cisco's eyes widened, keeping them trained on the hatch. Barry grabbed Cisco's wrists and vibrated them free. Cisco grunted as his injured fingers were jarred, the vibrations causing the slight scabs to rupture and ooze fresh blood.

The trapdoor flew open, revealing the Exterminator at the top of the stairs. He carried something like a bag doctor's used to use to carry their tools in.

Cisco's heart sped up. His feet were still bound. Barry knelt to pick him up. Cisco grabbed the metal choker off the ground and slipped it into his pocket as Barry picked him up.

"We're leaving!" Barry declared yo the figure still at the top of the stairs. The Exterminator smiled.

"No, actually, you're not." He pulled a grenade from his belt and armed it, tossing it down the steps.

The world dissolved around Cisco as Barry ran. They stopped outside of the warehouse. Barry set Cisco down on the weedy ground and ran back in.

Cisco heard several more explosions, then Barry ran out. He dumped the Exterminator a few yards away from Cisco. Cisco could see that the man was tied up and rather bloody from all the shrapnel sticking out of his body, but still alive.

"I'm gonna go get the cops," Barry panted. "Are you okay staying here with...?" He pointed at the Exterminator.

"Yeah, just untie my feet." Cisco was actually terrified to stay alone, even with the man all tied up. He would have preferred to go with Barry, but he wanted at least to be able to run if he needed to.

"Great," Barry flashed him a smile as he tore through the zip-ties with the help of super powers. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Don't go near him."

Cisco didn't need Barry to tell him that. Barry zipped away in a blur of speed, leaving only wind. Cisco found it vaguely impressive that Barry could still manage to look and act so heroic while standing in his underwear.

Cisco looked at the tied up villain. He looked like he was shaking. Cisco crept a little bit closer, making sure to stay at least two yards away. Now that he was closer, he could hear the old man laughing.

"Why..." he faltered. "Why are you laughing?"

"Why? Why wouldn't I be?" The Exterminator struggled against his bonds for a moment, then stopped. "Your little hero just left you alone with a serial killer."


	2. Chapter 2

Cisco felt uneasy. He backed away slowly. It hadn't even been a minute since Barry left, and there was no telling how many minutes would pass before he returned.

The Exterminator pulled off the ropes that bound him and flashed a knife at Cisco as he stood up. He must have been hiding it, Cisco thought. The man lunged at him and Cisco dodged, falling to his side.

He scrambled to his feet and ran, but the Exterminator was quick. Cisco was tackled and slammed onto the ground. He rolled onto his back and kicked.

It was no use. The Exterminator pinned Cisco down and put the knife to his neck.

"How long until your knight in shining armor comes riding back? Two minutes? One?" Cisco trembled. The Exterminator smirked. "Because I only need half of that to finish you off."

He dragged the knife across Cisco's torso a few times, cutting just deep enough to hurt. Cisco tried not to cry out, to not give him the satisfaction, but it was hard. The knife revisited his shoulder next, the tip digging into the bloody gash.

Cisco struggled against him, breathing hard. The Exterminator punched him repeatedly in the face, agitating his bruises from earlier. Cisco could taste blood in his mouth. He grunted and thrashed, managing to free one arm and elbow his attacker hard in the stomach.

The Exterminator's face twisted into an ugly expression and he grabbed Cisco's right hand. He spread out the fingers, locating the ones he had wounded earlier. He grabbed his knife again and used the handle to smash Cisco's fingers.

Cisco screamed as the pain jolted through him. Tears leaked out of his eyes.

"Goodbye, Cisco Ramon." He held the knife to Cisco's throat and began to press down, beads of blood dripping out of the cut.

Cisco was going to die. He was actually going to die, and he wouldn't be able to say goodbye to anyone. He wouldn't be able to thank Caitlin and Dr. Wells for being his surrogate family, he wouldn't be able to tell his brother that he didn't actually hate him, he wouldn't be able to tell Barry that he-

The pressure of his attacker was swept off of him, the knife gone. Cisco lifted his head to see Barry wailing on the Exterminator.

"Don't! Fucking! Touch! Him!" Barry emphasized each syllable with a punch to the murderer's face. Barry sped into the warehouse and came out with steel chains. He chained the Exterminator to the metal fence that ran along the outside of the warehouse.

Barry ran over to Cisco, who was still laying on the ground. His face hurt, the rest of his body was aching, and his fingers might as well have been numb because the pain was so intense that he literally could not feel them anymore.

"Cisco! Oh my God!" Barry's eyes swept over Cisco's bloody and beaten body. "Are you okay? Talk to me!" Barry scooped Cisco into his lap and cradled him in his arms.

"I'm okay. Well, kinda." Cisco coughed. He spat out a mouthful of blood onto the ground. Barry looked horrified. "Jus' from being punched. I'll live."

Cisco glanced down at himself. There was a lot of blood, he could see why Barry looked so worried. But, overall, it looked worse than it was. The thin cuts bled a lot, but weren't very deep. Cisco could hear police sirens whining in the distance.

"Hey," Cisco croaked, "Can we leave?" He didn't want to get stuck with the cops, and Barry was still only wearing boxers, so it would be better if they weren't there.

"Yeah, sure. I'll just call the station later tonight and tell them that the Flash took you to a hospital."

"Awesome." Cisco stood up, even though being held in Barry's arms wasn't exactly a bad place to be. Barry scooped him right back up, bridal style, and held him close. Cisco wrapped his uninjured arm around Barry's shoulders, slightly embarrassed at how easily Barry held him in this position.

They sped off. Cisco was extremely conscious of Barry's unclothed body, partially because it kept rubbing against his bleeding wounds, sending waves of pain through him, and partially for... other reasons.

The world blurred into focus as Barry skidded to a stop inside the lab. Caitlin and Dr. Wells were talking by the monitors. Caitlin looked worried. They wind from Barry's arrival startled them.

"Hey." Cisco said, waving feebly, as Barry set him down and helped steady him. His head was swimming with nausea, and he guessed that he probably had a concussion. Caitlin's face went from worried, to relieved, to worried again in the course of a few seconds as she took in the sight of him and Barry.

Cisco guessed that they probably didn't look like the poster children for perfect health, seeing as Cisco was covered in blood and bruises and leaning on a half-naked Barry, who was also smeared with blood from carrying him. Dr. Wells sighed, but said nothing as he drank in the sight of them.

Caitlin got up and rushed over to Cisco. She gave him a gentle hug, not caring about getting blood on her pristine clothes.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" She wrapped one arm around Barry as well. "Both of you! We were so worried."

She let go and helped Cisco to the sickbay. She grabbed some gauze and cotton balls, while instructing Cisco to take his shirt off. He winced as he gingerly pulled the shirt over his head.

Caitlin came over to clean and dress his wounds, starting on his shoulder and chest. She focused on the task at hand, not questioning or talking. Cisco could tell she was trying to ignore her personal feelings of concern and panic, letting the doctor side take over. He had seen her like this before, during the aftermath of the particle accelerator explosion, when she had been the only medically trained professional on the scene amongst so many dying friends. It was a coping tactic he was used to seeing.

"Hey, Cait, I'm okay. Just a little bit banged up. I'll be fine." Cisco said, voice low. She smiled slightly and nodded.

He could see Barry talking with Wells at the monitor, summarizing the night's events. Barry turned away and used the comms system to call CCPD as the Flash, informing them of where the hostage had gone.

Now that the adrenaline had left him, Cisco felt drowsy. His wounds throbbed rhythmically, a steady beat of discomfort. His eyelids drooped, and all the background noise seemed to fade. He closed his eyes.

"-co!" Caitlin was yelling and shaking him. "Cisco! You can't fall asleep!" He blinked his eyes open again. "Barry, do you know if he hit his head at any point?"

Barry must have rushed over when Caitlin started yelling, because he was now standing next to her, supporting Cisco's shoulders and preventing him from falling over. Barry kept his eyes focused on Cisco's face, brows raised in concern.

"I don't know. Probably." Barry told her. "He got punched a few times, for sure."

"He smashed my head against the wall." Cisco mumbled. He definitely had a concussion.

"Okay," Caitlin said, "Barry, you need to keep him awake. I still need to finish- Oh my God!" The doctor side broke momentarily. She held his right hand in hers, examining the broken finger for the first time.

Cisco looked down. It looked worse than he remembered. The finger was swollen and purple, the bone that stuck out still bleeding. Caitlin slipped back into doctor-mode.

She set the finger after a quick x-ray, re-breaking it to get the tip back into it's proper place. Barry held Cisco's uninjured hand all the while, providing a small amount of comfort through the pain.


	3. Chapter 3

By the time Caitlin was completely done patching Cisco up, they were into the early hours of the night. She was as exhausted as Barry and Cisco. Wells had left earlier, confident that the worst of the situation was resolved, leaving only the three of them in the lab.

Caitlin had determined that Cisco had a mild concussion, and that someone needed to stay with him for the next twenty-four hours or so to monitor for symptoms that could change the diagnosis to a more severe one. Barry volunteered to stay.

Barry had offered to let Cisco stay the night at his house, but the nausea and headache told Cisco that moving anywhere would be a bad idea, so they remained in the lab. Barry set up a cot for himself in the hall next to Cisco's room.

"Alright, Caitlin told me to wake you up every two hours to make sure you aren't, y'know, dead, or in a coma." Barry smiled, adjusting the STAR Labs sweatshirt he was now wearing. "Trust me, I've been there and it sucks."

Cisco smiled at the joke. He was tired, and everything hurt, but Barry made him feel a bit better just by being there.

"Yeah, I gotcha. I was there for that bit too." Cisco said. Barry left the door to the hall open and got into his cot. He set an alarm on his phone for two hours. "G'night, Barry. Thanks for saving me today." Cisco murmured, closing his eyes.

"All in a day's work, dear citizen." Barry said in a deep voice with a cheesy grin, mimicking the heroes from cartoons he used to watch. "Goodnight, Cisco. I'm glad you're safe." Barry whispered, as Cisco had already fallen asleep.

 _Cisco was chained to the ground in the dark. He could hear footsteps coming closer, menacing thuds that seemed to come from every direction, yet with the certainty of dreaming he knew it was one person. His heart raced and he struggled to get free, but there was nothing he could do._

 _Bodies fell from the air and cracked onto the hard floor, illuminated as if under a spotlight. One body fell for each of the Exterminator's victims. They were broken and bloody, entire chunks of skin missing. Cisco struggled more as the footsteps grew louder._

 _With a sickening thwack, a body fell directly in front of him. It was Barry, dead and covered in blood. Cisco shook his head._

 _"No, no, no." He whispered, face twisting in despair. "No!"_

Barry gently shook Cisco awake, more tapping than actual shaking. Cisco looked up to see Barry's face staring at his own, several inches away.

"I have to keep you up for at least fifteen minutes, now. Sorry, dude, doctor's orders." Barry whispered. Cisco sat up in his bed and stretched his sore body, blinking away the dream.

He looked over at Barry, now sitting on the end of Cisco's bed, whose hair was rumpled in odd directions from laying down. A faint smile came to his lips and he turned away so Barry wouldn't be able to see it.

"So, how are you feeling?" Barry said after a minute or so, breaking the silence.

"Like shit."

"That's kinda what I thought." Barry nodded his head. Cisco slumped against his pillows and turned to Barry, carefully adjusting his injured hand so it sat in his lap. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Let me borrow your speed healing for an hour or so?" Cisco jokingly suggested.

"If only I could, dude." Barry checked the time on his phone. "Alright, I think thirteen minutes is good enough. Get some sleep."

"Awesome." Cisco layed down, shut his eyes, and almost immediately fell asleep.

 _He was back in the warehouse, tied to the pipe in the basement. The Exterminator walked towards him, eyes cold and emotionless. Cisco struggled against his bonds and tried to call for help, but no sound came out. The Exterminator pulled out his knife and grinned sadistically._

 _"Too bad, your little hero couldn't save you." He tilted his head towards the mound of flesh rotting in the corner. Cisco looked over._

 _It was Barry, dead and decaying. Maggots writhed through his skin, digging into his eyes and face, while flies crawled over his body, occasionally flitting to new places. Cisco gagged, the smell of expired flesh combined with the sight was overpowering._

 _Tears welled in his eyes. The Exterminator brought the knife to Cisco's throat, pressing hard. Cisco wanted to scream or cry out for help, but he could only manage to whisper Barry's name, over and over._

 _"Goodbye, Cisco Ramon."_

Cisco eyes shot open and he gasped, heart pounding. He looked around wild-eyed and tried to move his arms, but something prevented him.

"Cisco!" Barry was leaning over him, holding him down by his forearms. "It's okay! You're safe!"

"Wha...?" Cisco swallowed and focused on Barry's face. Barry let go of his arms and sat next to him, pulling him into a hug.

"You're okay now. I'll keep you safe." Barry whispered. Cisco returned the hug and let his face rest on Barry's chest, listening to the other's heartbeat while his own breathing returned to normal.

Cisco pulled back after a minute and took in the sight of Barry's face, alive and healthy. The gruesome image from his nightmare stayed in his mind everytime he blinked, like the orangey-blue afterimage of staring directly at a light for too long.

"What happened?" Barry asked. "In your dream, I mean. Was it...?" Cisco nodded.

"If he was Freddy Krueger, I would be dead." Cisco took in a shaky breath. "You were... You were dead too." The image of Barry's decaying corpse returned. Cisco could still remember the smell.

"That's awful, I'm so sorry, Cisco. But, we're both okay now, and that creep is locked up. Besides, I'd never die before I could save you." He smiled and rubbed circles on Cisco's back.

Cisco smiled slightly at him. His thoughts wandered to when Barry showed up at the warehouse. Cisco had been so afraid when he saw Barry unconscious, he'd thought for a moment then that Barry really could be dead. Fortunately, that wasn't the case. Then Cisco had helped get the collar off Barry, and then they had almost...

"Hey, do you remember earlier, when I helped you get free?" Cisco asked. Barry's hand stopped.

"Uh, yeah." Barry pulled away. "What about it?"

"Well, right after, we had that," Cisco paused to find the right word. "...moment. What exactly was that?" Cisco knew what he himself thought that moment was, but he was afraid of how Barry's thoughts might differ.

"Uh," Barry cleared his throat. "Just, um, heat of the moment, I guess. Yeah, it was... it was nothing."

"Right." Cisco gave Barry his best fake smile and a nod. "Heat of the moment. That's what I thought. Just checking."

"Yeah." Barry replied weakly. He returned to his cot. "See you in two hours."

Barry laid down on his side, facing away from the open door. Cisco sighed quietly.

"Night." He layed down and stared at the ceiling.

Cisco didn't want to go back to sleep. It wasn't that he wasn't tired, because heaven knows he was, but rather, he didn't want to have that nightmare again. Or any dream of a similar nature.

His brain couldn't get rid of the images and the feelings of seeing his friend's rotting corpse. Plus, dying in a dream is never a pleasant experience. Cisco tried to distract himself.

He thought back to the almost-kiss, or the "heat of the moment" from earlier. Cisco couldn't deny he was disappointed at Barry's response. He'd almost thought it was possible that Barry liked him in a more-than-platonic way. However, he thought, he also knew he tended to read too much into things like that. Especially when it came to extremely attractive people who paid him more than two-seconds of attention. Cisco decided he needed to distract himself from sleep with something that made him feel less sad.

He got up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Cisco stood up and started walking towards the window, but he didn't get very far. The world seemed to start spinning, and the nausea returned. Cisco's legs felt like jelly and he stumbled into the wall, bracing himself against it.

"Cisco?" Barry whispered. In less than a second, he was at Cisco's side, supporting him by grabbing his waist with one arm and pulling Cisco's arm over his shoulders with the other. "What are you doing? You shouldn't be up and about like this yet."

"Relax, mom, I was just going to the window to get some fresh air." Cisco knew Barry had a right to be worried, but he couldn't help but poke fun at him.

"That can wait until the morning, young man." Barry retorted in his best mom-voice. "You need to rest and heal." He brought Cisco back to the bed.

"Come on, dude. I don't want to go back to sleep." Cisco pleaded. He sighed and swallowed. "I- I can't."

Barry looked confused for a moment, then he understood. Cisco was afraid of experiencing the nightmare again. Barry looked into Cisco's eyes.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Barry asked, leaning closer, face full of sincerity. Cisco paused for a second.

"I don't know. Just... stay here with me." Barry nodded.

"Okay."

Cisco moved over to let Barry crawl in next to him on the tiny bed. Barry got in and wrapped his arms around Cisco so that he became a human pillow, being careful not to accidentally provoke Cisco's wounds. Cisco leaned into him and closed his eyes.

After a few minutes, he could feel Barry's breathing become slow and regular, indicating sleep. The steady rise and fall of his chest lulled Cisco into a dreamless but pleasant slumber.


	4. Chapter 4

Cisco woke to the sound of high-heels clacking against linoleum. Caitlin, he guessed, keeping his eyes shut. Barry still had his arms wrapped around Cisco, one hand resting under the hem of Cisco's shirt just above the waistline of his jeans, and the comfortable position Cisco was in only made him want to go back to sleep and never move.

He heard Caitlin enter the sickbay where they were resting. She gasped and stopped at the foot of the bed.

"Awww," she whispered. Cisco heard fabric rustle, then silence. He opened his eyes, squinting at the brightness of the room.

Caitlin was looking down at her phone screen, smiling. She looked up and saw Cisco staring at her. Her eyes widened and she looked guilty, like she'd just been caught stealing cookies.

"What were you smiling at?" Cisco asked, extremely suspicious. Caitlin pressed her lips together and looked off to the side, eyebrows raised.

"Uh, I was, uh, looking at," She paused to find an excuse, "a cat video?"

Cisco didn't buy it for a second. His expression said "really?".

"Caitlin, you're a bad liar to begin with, but with me? Come on."

"Okay," She gave in. "I took a picture of you and Barry sleeping together. Well, not sleeping together sleeping together just together and sleeping, I mean. You guys just look so cute all cuddled up like that." She twisted her wedding ring nervously and smiled slightly. "Am I in trouble?"

Cisco squinted at her for a long moment. Barry stirred beneath him.

"Only if you don't send me a copy."

"You got it." Caitlin smiled.

"Hnn... got what?" Barry mumbled, barely awake. He let go of Cisco's waist and stretched. Cisco moved himself off of Barry, immediately feeling the absence of his embrace.

"Nothing. It's not important." Cisco said. He got off the bed and stood up. He wasn't as dizzy this time, but he was still unsteady on his feet. Barry kept a wary eye on Cisco as he walked across the room, using the wall to brace himself.

Cisco stopped at the deep metal sink connected to the wall. He turned on the faucet and splashed some water on his face. He wished he could take a shower and change clothes, as he was still wearing the same ones from the day before. He dried himself off with paper towels and put his hands in his pockets.

Cisco's hand met something hard. Confused, he pulled it out. The metal collar sat in his hand, the wires wrapped around it shone. He felt like Frodo holding the ring. It was a potentially dangerous yet potentially helpful circle of metal, only Caitlin and Barry hadn't seemed to notice that he was holding it.

"So, Barry." Caitlin said. "What were you doing over there with Cisco?"

Barry shrugged. "Can't a guy have platonic cuddles with his bro?"

Cisco put the collar back in his pocket and shuffled out of the room, over to his workbench in the central cortex of the lab. He could still hear them talking while he put the necklace in a large drawer.

"Oh really, Barry? Platonic cuddles? Was that all it was?"

"Yes, Caitlin, that's all it was. I am comfortable enough with my masculinity that I can cuddle with another guy for a night and not feel threatened. What exactly are you implying?"

Cisco locked the drawer and walked back over to Caitlin. The wooziness was dissipating now.

"Oh, I think you know what I'm implying, Mister Allen."

"Oh, really Miss Snow? Do I?"

They stared each other down for a minute then burst out laughing, unable to feign seriousness anymore. Normally, Cisco would've laughed at their banter too, but the subject they broached just reminded Cisco that he didn't stand a chance with Barry.

Caitlin grabbed a few instruments and went over to Cisco. She changed his bandages and asked him a few questions pertaining to symptoms of concussions. Once she was done, she determined him to be 'okay' and most likely on the path to recovery.

Cisco took the next five days off from work. He decided he needed some time to rest and recover. Barry and Caitlin came over a few times to check up on him, but other than that and the police stopping by to ask him a few questions about the kidnapping incident, his days were uneventful.

His nights, however, were far from restful. Over and over again, he had nightmares where Barry died, sometimes multiple nightmares in one night, each one more horrible than before. There was never any way to prevent Barry's death, even if he'd stopped all possible causes, something would still happen. Sometimes Cisco himself was the reason it happened.

After all that, Cisco was excited to finally return to the distraction of work. He had been mulling over how the collar might work in his head, and he had a few theories now. After his rest days, he went back.

Cisco sat down at his work table. He unlocked the drawer where he had hidden the stolen collar. It wasn't there. He checked again, only to get the same answer.

Cisco checked the rest of the drawers in his desk. Nothing else was missing, just the collar. He internally panicked. In the wrong hands, that collar could be extremely dangerous, as the Exterminator had proven. He checked the drawer a third time, more frantic now.

"Looking for this?" Dr. Wells appeared in the room, startling Cisco. He held the collar up in one hand. Cisco felt like a kid whose parents had just found his Playboys hidden under the bed. "I thought we agreed that you wouldn't build anything else that could potentially endanger Barry. No more weapons, right Cisco?"

Wells wore a hollow smile; Cisco heard a tinge of danger in his voice. Wells put the collar in his lap and moved closer.

"Dr. Wells, I can explain," Cisco said. Wells nodded for him to try. "The guy who kidnapped me and Barry made that. He used it to neutralize Barry's super speed once he was knocked out. I think it's probably how he managed to kill the other metahumans, y'know, by turning them back to normal before..." Cisco drew a line over his throat with a finger, "But anyways, I figured if I could figure out how it works, then maybe we could use it to stop bad guys in the future, and maybe we could let some of the ones we have in the basement go, or put them in a real prison. I'd never use it to hurt Barry."

Wells nodded, considering Cisco's explanation and idea. He licked his lips. "Very well, your logic is sound. Lock it up in a better place next time."

Wells put the collar on top of Cisco's table and left. Cisco sighed in relief. He pulled the collar in front of him and set to work dissecting it.

He learned that the collar was able to dampen metahuman powers by sending combined electrical and low-frequency sound waves to the wearer's brain, which matched frequencies with the brain's waves and then disrupted them. However, it only targeted a certain area of the cerebellum, which Cisco assumed was the part that most superpower control came from. For a crazy serial killer, the Exterminator was pretty smart.

Cisco perfected the design over the next few days, hiding exposed wires and adding things like a GPS and a code box to unlock or deactivate it. Pretty soon, he was ready to test it out.

Barry volunteered himself to be the human guinea pig. Cisco was nervous about testing it on his friend. The collar could potentially kill Barry if the frequency was matched wrong, or if it targeted the wrong area, or if any other number of other variables were even slightly off.

Barry sat down in a chair in front of him. Caitlin and Wells were standing off to one side, nervously spectating.

"So, this is going to be just like the one that the Exterminator put on me, right?" Barry asked. Cisco nodded.

"Theoretically. I modified it a little bit." Cisco clipped the collar around Barry's neck. He paused at the code box, it hadn't been set yet. "Hey, Dr. Wells, what should the code be? Six digits."

Wells thought for a few seconds. "Zero-one-one-nine-four-zero."

Cisco mentally ran through all his calculations again, double checking for any errors. He entered the code and held his breath.

Barry jumped like he'd been stung, then flopped back in the chair and went limp.


	5. Chapter 5

Cisco froze, eyes wide. Barry didn't move.

"Barry?" Cisco whispered. "Oh my God. I killed him."

Caitlin rushed over to check his pulse while Cisco sank to the ground. This was just like all the dreams he'd been having since that night. Barry was dead and there was nothing he could do. He took in shaky breaths, faster and faster.

"I don't understand," Caitlin said, brows furrowed. "His pulse is slower than normal, but for a regular person it's fine."

Cisco was still crouched on the floor, hyperventilating. This was too real. His mind narrowed onto one thought, everything else blocked out. "I killed him. He's dead."

After another moment of silence, Barry opened his eyes and burst out laughing. "Oh my God, you should have seen your faces!"

Caitlin scowled at him. "Barry Allen, that is NOT funny!" She punched his arm.

"Ow!" Barry winced and protectively put his hand over where she had hit him. "That hurt! You punch a lot harder than I thought."

Barry looked down at Cisco, the smile dying on his lips. He was frozen on the floor, face in his hands. "Cisco?" He didn't hear Barry.

"It's just another nightmare... it's just another nightmare..." Cisco mumbled to himself between quickening breaths. Barry reached out to touch his shoulder, but Wells stopped him.

"Cisco," Dr. Wells approached him, stopping his wheelchair just in front. He pulled Cisco's hands away from his face. "You're not dreaming. Barry is fine, you didn't hurt him."

Cisco looked up at Wells for a second, searching for any hint of a lie. He then looked at Barry, who was twiddling his thumbs sheepishly. Cisco exhaled. Reality seemed to return, allowing him to take a few deep breaths before getting up.

"Thank you, Dr. Wells." Cisco paused to recompose himself. He walked over to Barry and checked the collar for any abnormalities, hands still shaking from the panic attack. "Is it working?"

Barry tried vibrating his hand. Nothing happened.

"Yep."

"Awesome." Cisco punched in the code to deactivate and remove it.

"Good work, Cisco." Wells said. "Does it have a name?"

"Hmm," Cisco thought for a minute. "How 'bout... the counter-collar? Like counteracting powers?" Wells nodded approval and Caitlin rolled her eyes.

"Start making more of them." Wells said. "We'll want as many counter-collars as we can get."

Cisco nodded. Wells left to go do... whatever is it that Wells does. Cisco had never really thought about it before, but he had no idea what Wells did in the lab now, other than act as a consultant for Caitlin and himself.

Cisco went to the storage room to get materials for the new collars he would be making. Barry followed Cisco out of the room, ignoring the death-glare Caitlin shot at him.

"Hey, Cisco," Barry caught up with him in the hallway, matching strides. "I'm sorry. For what happened before. I didn't know it would scare you like that."

"It's cool, man, I just overreacted. Don't sweat it." Cisco's feelings were mixed between wanting Barry to piss off, and wanting to be with him to ensure his aliveness. They reached the storage room. Cisco unlocked the door and flicked on the light. Barry held the door open while Cisco gathered materials.

Cisco came out with an unsteady armful of wires, circuit boards, and metal scraps. Barry locked everything up behind him.

"Need some help?" Barry eyed the wobbly materials. Cisco shook his head and marched forward.

They walked in silence for a moment. "So... why exactly did that happen?"

"Why did what happen?" Cisco knew what Barry was talking about, but he wasn't very eager to discuss it.

"Your anxiety attack back there. I mean, that prank wasn't that scary. What's going on with you?"

"Nothing. I'm fine." Cisco shifted the materials in his arms, nearly dropping them. Barry noticed. He stopped in front of Cisco and took half of the scraps and wires out of his arms, his fingers brushing against Cisco's arms as he did so.

"You're obviously not fine." Barry stayed in front of Cisco, preventing him from walking towards the lab. Cisco could feel Barry's gaze sweeping over him, taking in everything from the dark bags under his eyes to his rumpled t-shirt and scuffed up blue converse. "Bad dreams again?"

Cisco nodded. He walked around Barry and entered the cortex, returning to his work table. He dumped the materials onto the table top. Barry came in after him and followed suit.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Barry asked.

"Yeah, you can help me make molds for the metal casing. Take this scrap metal and melt it in the industrial room, then pour it in here." Cisco pushed a sorted pile of scraps and two molds for the collar pieces towards Barry, then pointed at a map of the building to show Barry where to find the metal kilns.

Barry picked up the supplies and looked at Cisco pointedly.

"I meant with the dreams."

"Oh."

Barry left to carry out what Cisco had asked him to do. Cisco began wiring the circuit boards.

He wasn't sure if Barry could help him. It was true that being with Barry that first night had seemed to keep the nightmares at bay, but it wasn't like Cisco could ask Barry to sleep with him every night. However, becoming an insomniac wasn't a very appealing idea either. Cisco actually liked to sleep- bad dreams notwithstanding.

Barry came back approximately two hours later. He had four cases molded. Cisco was still working on getting the fourth circuit board wired. After doing three, it had become much easier to remember where everything attached, but no less time consuming.

By the end of the work day, Cisco's efforts combined with Barry's had yielded four completely wired and soldered counter-collars. They were both tired.

"Yo, Barry, wanna grab some grub with me? Celebrate our four-collars-complete success?" Cisco said, grinning as he put the collars in a special lock box.

"Sure." Barry put on his jacket. "Where do you want to go?"

"I'm thinking that new place on first and Garrick. Y'know, the one with the reeaally good ribs." Cisco grabbed his hoodie from the back of his chair. "Hey, Caitlin, you want to join?" Cisco put his arms through the sleeves and glanced at Caitlin, who was analyzing some blood samples on her computer.

"Oh, no thank you." She didn't even look up from the screen. "I've almost got this figured out. I'm just going to stay here a little while longer."

"What are you working on anyways?" Cisco wandered over to her and glanced over her shoulder.

"Just testing a theory..." She trailed off, lost in her work. Cisco looked at Barry and shrugged.

"Okay. Good luck, see you tomorrow." Cisco met Barry at the door way and they walked to the parking garage. They stopped when they reached Cisco's car.

"Are you going to hitch a ride with me or...?" Cisco made a running motion with his fingers.

"I'll run, that is, if you can keep up." Barry smirked. Cisco raised his eyebrows.

"Is that a challenge, Mr. Allen?" Cisco smiled.

"You bet your cute little ass it is."

Cisco wasn't sure he'd heard that right. It was probably just his sleep deprived mind playing tricks on him. Right? He slid a hair tie out of his pocket and pulled his hair into a messy ponytail.

"You're on, white boy." Cisco unlocked his car and got in. "But, hey, no going over sixty miles. You gotta give me some advantage."

"Alright, fair enough."

Cisco started his engine and backed out of the space. He rolled down his window.

"Ready, set, go!" Barry disappeared in a flash, and Cisco tore out of the garage as fast as he could, which, unfortunately, was pretty slowly. Cisco knew Barry would get there long before him, but it couldn't hurt to try.

He drove a little over the speed limit. At one intersection, Cisco saw Barry on the sidewalk, casually leaning against a lamp post and waving smugly at him. Then he zipped away again.

Cisco reached the restaurant ten minutes later, which, for rush hour traffic, was a new record. He parked nearby and saw Barry sitting at a table on the restaurant's porch. Cisco walked to the table and sat down.

Barry smiled at him. The fading sunlight caught his face at just the right angle, making Barry appear celestial. Cisco smiled back and failed to fight down a blush, grateful that his brown skin hid it.

"By the way, you totally lost." Barry said, leaning back in his chair.

"Yeah, well, we can't all be goddamn Speed Racer like you." Cisco teased. "My car only goes to mach four."

"Uh-huh. I'm sure." Barry laughed. A waitress interrupted them with the drinks Barry had ordered before Cisco arrived. She then took their meal orders. After she left, Barry leaned in and lowered his voice. "So, I had an idea. About the collars." Cisco listened and leaned closer.

"What about them?"

"Well, as far as we know, they work perfectly well on me, so what if we were able to use them on the Reverse Flash? If I could just get one on him, then we might be able to finally catch him." Cisco nodded.

"That could work. But how would you get it on him in the first place? He's faster than you. And what if the collar doesn't work on him?"

"I don't know." Barry ran his hands through his hair. "I don't know. But it could work, and if it doesn't then... nothing's changed, and we're back to square one. Just think about it. I could finally actually have a shot at catching my mom's killer."

Cisco sighed and looked down. He chewed on his straw and thought for a moment. "Maybe... if I amped up the dampners and tweaked it a little... we'd have to change the code to something he'd never think of... and if we set just the right trap, maybe, just maybe it might work."

Cisco met Barry's eyes, still mulling over potential outcomes. Barry's face lit up.

"Really? Does that mean you'll help me?" Cisco couldn't have said no to him even if he wanted to; it would've been like kicking a puppy. He rolled his eyes and nodded.

"Yeah, I'll do it." Barry grinned.

"Thank you so much, Cisco! We'll get him, for sure. But can we keep this just between us? The less people know, the better." Cisco was confused.

"What about Caitlin and Dr. Wells?" Cisco asked, brows furrowed. Barry shook his head.

"No, not even them. Please, Cisco, you have to understand." Cisco shook his head and backed up a bit in his seat.

"Dude, no. They should know if we're planning to take down nega-Flash. What if we need help, or what if they get caught in the crossfire?"

"That's not going to happen." Barry said it like it was a fact. "I'll call Oliver for back up, he can bring Team Arrow to help if things get out of hand. You just can't tell anyone what we're doing." Barry sighed and licked his lips. "Look, I know it sounds crazy, but Joe has this theory that the man in yellow might actually be Dr. Wells. And, I don't know, maybe it's not so crazy."

"Barry," Cisco held his hands partially up in exasperation, "He is in. A wheelchair. He. Cannot. Use. His. Legs."

"Okay, I know, but what if he's faking? Like using it as a misdirect? It's possible, right?" Barry shrugged. "Just, please don't tell anyone else. Please."

"Fine." Cisco huffed. If Barry was really as batshit crazy as he sounded, then the least Cisco could do was go along with it to comfort him on the way to the metaphorical asylum.

The waitress arrived with their food. She set two steaming plates of ribs drenched in barbecue sauce in front of them. Barry thanked the waitress as she left.

"Aww, yeah!" Cisco said, rubbing his hands together. They dug in enthusiastically, conversation replaced by the sounds of eating.

Barry finished first, and Cisco shortly after. Barry's face and hands were covered in sauce. Cisco wasn't much better off, though he had somehow managed to keep his injured fingers clean.

They wiped off their hands and faces as best they could, but there was only so much a napkin could do. Barry looked at Cisco and started laughing.

"What?" Cisco asked. He looked down at himself, trying to find the source of Barry's amusement. Barry pointed at Cisco's face.

"Dude, you've got sauce on your nose. Here," Barry grabbed a clean napkin and leaned over. He wiped off the sauce, causing Cisco to look away in embarrassment.

"That was unexpected, but thanks." Cisco chuckled. Barry just shrugged.

"Hey, actually I'm gonna run to the bathroom and wash my hands. They're still kinda sticky." Barry wiggled his fingers in demonstration. "If the waitress comes back, order me some dessert. You know what I like." He winked and got up.

Cisco watched him walk away. The waitress stopped by shortly after, and Cisco ordered lime sherbert for himself and chocolate cake for Barry.

Cisco didn't want this night to end. It was just a simple dinner, but he was enjoying being with Barry. Cisco imagined an actual date with him would be something like this, but probably with more kissing. However, he knew that Barry wasn't interested in anything like that, proven when he had been so eager to forget that moment. His reaction still stung.

"Hey, ground control to Major Cisco," Barry waved his hand in front of Cisco's face. Cisco blinked out of his daze and looked at Barry.

"What?"

"You spaced out for, like, an entire minute." Barry looked at him with concern. "Are you sure you're okay? I mean with the thing from earlier and everything."

"Yep, never better." Cisco straightened up and tried to look more "okay". He felt the weariness creeping back into his consciousness.

"You don't have to lie to me, you know. How bad are the dreams?" Barry searched his face for clues. Cisco looked down, trying to avoid Barry's gaze.

"I can deal with them on my own, don't worry." Barry frowned.

"Cisco, I'm your friend. I'm going to worry about you no matter what you say. Now stop avoiding questions and tell me what's up." Barry's heart of gold could be real annoying sometimes. Cisco didn't want to talk about what was going on in his head.

Truthfully, he didn't know why he was still having these dreams. He knew Barry was alive and safe, and he knew the Exterminator, whose real name he'd learned since was Henry Borden, was locked up in Iron Heights. It made no sense for the nightmares to keep plaguing him the way they did. Cisco sighed and looked up at Barry.

"I can't sleep. I fall asleep for an hour or two, and then I get the nightmares." Barry focused entirely on what Cisco was saying. "They're different every night, but they always end with you or me dead. Sometimes both. And usually, I don't wake up after a death, more just keep hap-"

Cisco was interrupted by the waitress, who served them their dessert.

"Thanks, miss." Cisco smiled at her as she left and turned back to Barry. "Anyway, I just don't know how to stop these things. I tried not-sleeping last night, and obviously that didn't work, see exhibit A." He pointed at himself.

"You didn't sleep last night? Dude, that's not good for you!"

"I'm fine, it happens all the time with work and shit." Cisco took a bite of his sherbert.

"No, dude, you're not fine, you need to sleep. Is there anything I can do to help? Anything at all, even if it's, like, going to Iron Heights and punching that jerk in the face." Cisco chuckled and shook his head.

"No, there's nothing you could... well... nope, nevermind." Asking Barry to share a bed with him had briefly crossed his mind. He'd done it once before, but it was different when he had a concussion to blame "weird" behavior on as opposed to now, where the only thing impairing his brain was sleep deprivation.

"You hesitated, what did you think of?" Barry asked.

"Nothing."

"Cisco Ramon, tell me right now or so help me, I will eat the rest of your radioactive ice cream."

"Radioactive?"

"Yeah, I dunno," Barry shrugged, "it's weirdly bright for mint ice cream."

"Dude, it's lime sherbert, not ice cream."

" _Lime_ sherbert? They make that?"

"Have you seriously never had it?" Barry shook his head. Cisco groaned. "Holy shit, next you're going to tell me you've never seen Pulp Fiction."

Barry shrugged awkwardly. "I haven't, actually."

"Barry. You're killing me." Cisco whispered and covered his face with his hands.

"Sorry."

"Well, I can at least educate you on this." He took a spoonful of sherbert and, reaching across the table, offered it to Barry. "Here, try some."

Cisco intended that Barry would take the spoon from him and sample the sherbert, which definitely did not happen. Instead, Barry leaned over and bit directly from the spoon, which Cisco was still holding.

Cisco flushed as Barry pulled back. Barry's expression turned thoughtful as he mulled the sherbert around. He nodded.

"You're right, it's pretty good." Barry said. "Anyway, we were talking about what you thought of. Tell me."

"It's nothing." Cisco brushed him off. Barry remained expectant, and waited like a stern elementary school teacher for Cisco to give in, which he did eventually. "Maybe you could stay the night at my place and just... be there."

Barry nodded, catching the implied meaning of Cisco's words. "Sure, man, whatever you need. You ready to go?"

"Yeah." They flagged down the waitress and paid, splitting the bill fifty-fifty.


	6. Chapter 6

They left together, this time Barry rode with Cisco. They talked about nothing in particular on the way to Cisco's house.

It was still fairly early, only eight o'clock. Cisco decided to force Barry to watch Pulp Fiction. He wanted to kill some time between now and bedtime, and he really didn't want Barry to try to get him to talk about the dreams any more than he already had. The images that flashed in his mind whenever he thought about the nightmares were horrific.

The movie ended eventually, and Cisco made up a bed for Barry on the couch. He dreaded going to sleep. Cisco already knew what would happen when he did, and he wanted to avoid it for as long as possible. Unfortunately, getting ready for bed didn't take very long. Cisco walked into his living room.

"'Night, Barry, sleep tight." Cisco said, turning off the lights.

"You too, man. Holler if you need me." Barry waved goodnight as Cisco walked to his room.

Cisco turned off the lights and got into bed. He was exhausted. He had barely gotten more than three hours of sleep for the past few nights, and zero the night before. He closed his eyes. Sleep was already threatening to take over.

Cisco tried thinking about how to adjust the counter-collars for the man in yellow. Engineering could usually keep him awake. He fell asleep before he could even finish calculating the energy output difference they would need.

 _Cisco was in a long, dim hallway with several doors on each side. He walked by them, hearing various disturbing noises coming from each one. One door had screaming, another labored breathing, like something with lungs that had never fully developed._

 _"Choose one." A voice rasped. Cisco looked all around, but he was the only one in the hallway. He decided that obeying the voice would probably be the best course of action, as disobeying would, no doubt, end badly._

 _The door Cisco decided on was silent. He wasn't sure whether that was good or bad. He turned the knob and walked in._

 _The room was dark. He took a few paces forward. The door slammed shut behind him, making him jump at the sound. The brightness steadily rose until the room was completely lit._

 _It was a small bathroom, tiled in white. A figure leaned over the bathtub. Trying to identify the person, Cisco stepped closer._

 _"Hello? Are you okay?" He asked. The person mumbled something. "What?" Cisco reached out to touch them; for some reason, he needed to see who it was, even though deep down, he already knew._

 _"You did this to me." The person turned. It was Caitlin, her hair was out of it's usual curls, and her eyes were bloodshot. Cisco withdrew his hand, and stepped back. The bathtub was covered in dark red blood._

 _She pulled her arms out of the tub, revealing deep slits running down her forearms. "You did this to me." She repeated, louder this time._

 _Cisco backed into the door. His heart was pounding, he could feel tears welling in his eyes. Caitlin dragged herself closer, more blood oozing out of the wounds._

 _"You killed him, and you did this to me." She held up her wrists and started sobbing._

 _"I'm sorry." Cisco whispered. He knew she was talking about Ronnie, and he knew it was his fault. "I'm so sorry."_

 _"You did this to me!" She sobbed. Cisco couldn't take it anymore. He opened the door and ran back into the hallway. He had to get away from that room. Cisco opened another door, the one with the ragged breathing behind it._

 _This room was bigger, full of dust and debris. Barry was sitting on the ground, propped up against the wall, shaking. Blood gurgled from his mouth and he struggled to breath. Cisco rushed towards him._

 _"Barry!" He shouted. Cisco checked for any wounds, but found none. Barry just coughed and choked on his own blood, producing horrible gargling noises._

 _He tried to say "help", but it just came out as a rasping splutter. There was nothing Cisco could do. Barry was dying, and he was completely helpless._

 _Cisco stumbled out of the room and opened the door to another one. The man in yellow stood in the lab. He was turned away from Cisco._

 _The door slammed shut behind him, the noise drawing the reverse Flash's attention. Cisco barely breathed, heart pounding in fear. He didn't move. The man in yellow pulled back his mask._

 _Cisco was now staring at Dr. Wells. Confusion swept through him._

 _"You're...?" Cisco was shocked._

 _"You were so brilliant." Wells walked towards him slowly. "Such a waste of potential. It's unfortunate this has to happen, Cisco. You were truly like a son to me, I'm going to miss you."_

 _He now stood in front of Cisco and started vibrating his hand, ever so slowly reaching out, into Cisco's chest. Cisco felt a sharp pain, then there was nothing._

Cisco woke up panting and covered in sweat. He sat up and brushed his hair out of his face with trembling fingers. He got out of bed and just stood for a moment, letting his brain wind down. That had been one of the worst strings of nightmares he'd experienced yet.

He checked the time. It was one forty-three in the morning. Well, he figured, three hours of sleep was better than zero.

Cisco walked into the living room. He needed to prove to himself that Barry was okay, even though he knew it had just been another stupid dream.

Barry was laying on the couch, cuddled up under a blanket. Cisco couldn't actually tell if Barry was breathing, he was so still. He began to panic a bit. Cisco walked over to him.

He leaned down and used two fingers to check Barry's pulse. Fast, but steady. Cisco sighed and leaned his head on the edge of the couch cushions, closing his eyes.

"Cisco?" Barry whispered groggily. "You okay? What'sa matter?"

Cisco looked up at him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."

"It's cool, dude. Why are you out here? You should be sleeping." Barry propped himself up on one elbow.

"I tried that. Didn't go so well." Cisco shrugged. "I was just checking on you. Y'know, making sure you're sleeping, comfortable, not dead. That sort of thing."

"More nightmares?" Barry asked. Cisco nodded.

"It was really bad tonight. Caitlin cut her wrists and blamed me 'cuz of Ronnie, then you were choking on your own blood and I couldn't help. Then Dr. Wells was the reverse Flash, and... he killed me." Cisco rubbed his eyes, trying to make the images in his brain disappear. The deaths were all so vivid.

"Come here." Barry shifted so that he was sitting cross-legged on the couch and gestured for Cisco to sit next to him, which he did. Barry pulled him into a hug.

Cisco let all his thoughts fade away, and simply focused on Barry's heartbeat. Barry ran his fingers through Cisco's hair and brushed it back.

Cisco was so tired. Barry's presence was comforting, warm. He felt his eyelids drooping, and within seconds, Cisco fell asleep, still enveloped in Barry's arms.


	7. Chapter 7

Cisco woke feeling like he'd actually slept for the first time in a long time. He was more or less on top of Barry, laying horizontally on the couch, and they both still had their arms wrapped around the other. Barry was already awake, gazing over at Cisco's face through half-closed eyes, faintly smiling.

Barry blinked and looked away upon realizing that Cisco had woken. He cleared his throat and untangled himself from Cisco. Cisco checked the time; they needed to leave for their respective jobs soon.

"Hey," Cisco began as Barry put his shoes on, "thanks for staying with me. It helped."

"Anytime, man. If you need me to again, just say the word and I'll be here." Barry walked to the door.

"Thanks." Cisco smiled. "Have fun sniffing bodies at work."

"Okay, first of all, I don't sniff bodies, I analyze them. And secondly, I will, thank you." Barry waved goodbye and left.

Cisco got dressed and left shortly after. He spent the day making more counter-collars, and surreptitiously gathered the parts he would need to create the amped up one at home.

Cisco was careful not to attract Wells' attention. He was still spooked from the nightmare he'd had the night before. He rationalized that his brain had probably only come up with that because of what Barry suggested earlier in the evening, but he was wary nonetheless.

Once the day was over, Cisco went home. He worked on the special collar that night, nearly completing all the adjustments. He was curious as to what Barry's actual plan was to take down the Reverse Flash. He made a mental note to ask him about it later.

The dreams were even worse that night. He dreamed that the man in yellow had essentially caught wind of their plan, and he'd killed everyone in various gruesome ways. Cisco woke up shaking.

He sat in bed and put his face in his hands. That one felt real. Scary real. He decided that that was the last time he'd be sleeping that week.

Cisco instead finished the collar that night. It was a welcome distraction to keep him awake. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him. He actually had to get up several times and check all the rooms and windows to ease his paranoia.

Early the next morning, Caitlin called him. There was a new bad guy on the loose.

Cisco rushed over to the lab. Caitlin and Wells were standing at the monitor, coaching Barry through the situation.

This baddie could control water, and right now, she was whipping up one hell of a storm. She was standing in the ocean, about knee deep, but her powers were constantly bombarding Barry with water so that he couldn't get within fifty feet of her.

Barry used his powers to generate enough wind to negate the water blasts. Cisco joined Caitlin, analyzing the available data.

"Barry, try hitting her from the sides." Cisco said, "She's slower when changing directions, you might be able to KO her if you get a good hit in." He switched street cameras, trying to see better, but the rain made most of the footage virtually useless.

Barry ran at her in a spiral direction and managed to knock her down. The storm momentarily died down.

"What now? How do we stop her for good?" Barry panted. The woman recovered quickly and started blasting Barry with rain again. He sped out of her range and waited for a reply.

"Uh," Cisco paused and thought. "Did you happen to bring any counter-collars? That should put Hurricane Katrina over here out of business. Not her name, by the way. I'm still thinking."

"Alright, I'll come get one." A flash of lightning and wind burst through the lab. "Got it."

Barry was back at the beach. Sometimes Cisco forgot just how fast he really was. Cisco watched as Barry repeated the spiral attack and clipped the collar in place. The storm dissipated.

"It worked!" Barry reported back. Cisco pumped his fist and smiled.

"Alright! Rain, rain go away!" Cisco cheered. He was glad the collar's field test actually worked.

"What... what did you do to me?" The woman asked, trying to use her powers. Barry scooped her up.

"Nothing much," Barry replied, "just gave you a shiny new necklace." He dropped her off at the police station and returned to STAR Labs.

"Good job today, Barry, Cisco." Wells said nodding at both of them. "Those collars will certainly be a great help in our future endeavors."

Cisco nodded. The collars would be especially helpful if they managed to catch the reverse Flash with them. Thinking of which, Cisco needed to talk to Barry about that.

"Hey, Barry." Cisco pulled him away from the others. "Can we talk later? About... you-know-what?"

Barry looked confused. "Wait, which you-know what?"

Now it was Cisco's turn to be confused. "What do you mean "which you-know what"? There's only one. With the thing?" Cisco subtly pointed at his neck.

"Oh, right. That. I thought you were talking about..." Barry blushed. "Nevermind. Yeah, I'll come over to your place tonight."

"Actually, can we meet at your place this time?" Cisco asked. He was still freaked out by that weird feeling of being watched the night before. "I'll tell you why later."

"Sure, man. See you after work?" Cisco nodded. "Cool." Barry left for his actual job, leaving Cisco to get back to his.

Caitlin walked over to Cisco's work table and leaned on the table top.

"So, Cisco. What's you-know-what?" She asked. Cisco put down the tech he was tinkering with and looked at her.

"Were you eavesdropping?" He squinted at her.

"Who me?" She feigned offense. "Maybe. So?"

Cisco shrugged. "It's nothing. Just some stuff between me and Barry."

"Like what kind of stuff?"

"Like private stuff that he asked me to keep between us." Cisco went back to his tech.

"Cisco, it's okay. You can tell me, I won't judge you or him. I think it's pretty cute actually." She smiled at him.

Cisco looked at her, confused. "Wait, what are you talking about?"

"You two. Together. I mean, it's not exactly hard to figure out." Now Cisco was really confused. What exactly did she think was going on?

"Um, what?" He stammered. "We're not... me and Barry aren't..." Cisco shook his head.

"Oh please. Ever since the night you got kidnapped, you two have been all over each other." She smiled smugly. "I even have photographic evidence, remember?"

Cisco felt his face grow hot. He remembered alright. But he still didn't exactly understand how her train of thought had brought her to this conclusion.

"But we're not together like that! That was just a one-time thing." Well, twice actually, but Caitlin didn't need to know that. "What we were talking about doesn't even-"

"Cisco!" Caitlin cut him off. "You're going to his house to "talk" about a secret something between you two that Barry doesn't want you to tell anyone. Obviously you two are dating now, and even though you're already out, Barry is too afraid to come out of the closet. You don't have to admit it yet, but I completely support you guys." Cisco facepalmed.

"Caitlin, no, that's not- Look, yes, I am bi, and yes, I think Barry's cute and nice and dreamy, but we're not dating. I would tell you if we were." Caitlin look unconvinced.

"It's okay, Cisco, whenever you guys are ready." She started walking away.

"Let me know when your legs get tired from jumping to conclusions!" Cisco called after her

Honestly, Cisco wished she was right. But all he got from Barry were mixed signals. First they almost kissed, next Barry brushed it off like their faces had just happened to be occupying the same space. Then they'd "platonically cuddled" all night, and then Barry had been possibly flirting during that dinner date? Well, he mentally corrected himself, it wasn't a dinner date, just dinner. However, Caitlin was right about one thing; they acted pretty fucking gay around each other.

But, as far as Cisco was aware, Barry was straight, so Cisco knew that nothing would ever happen between them. He sighed and focused on work instead.

The day passed by and eventually he left. The drive to Barry's house seemed long, with Cisco's thoughts swirling around, caught between nightmares, the collar vs. Reverse Flash plan, and Barry.

He arrived at Barry's house and knocked on the door. Cisco rubbed his eyes and waited. Barry answered the door.

"Hey!" He smiled, gesturing for Cisco to come in. They took a seat on the couch. "So, what's up? Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I finished the souped-up collar last night. If it works as planned, then we should have no problem taking down the ever-elusive man in yellow." Cisco said. He leaned back in the cushions and squeezed his eyes shut. He could feel a headache coming on. "So, what's your plan?"

"I... don't really know." Barry shrugged. "I guess lure him out, then give it everything we've got."

"Okay, what do we lure him with?"

"I'm not sure. Last time he was after the Tachyonic Particles, maybe we could get more of those?"

"Nah," Cisco shook his head, "he already got those, he wouldn't need more. Besides, the container we tried last time didn't hold out. Any other ideas?"

"Wait til he shows himself first?" Barry shrugged again and ran his hands through his hair. "But then we lose the advantage. Nope. Uhmm..."

They sat in silence for several minutes. Cisco was trying to think of more possible solutions, but he was exhausted, and he was having trouble focusing his thoughts. He looked over at Barry, mind drifting to the earlier conversation.

"What was the other you-know-what?" Cisco asked.

"What?" Barry knit his brows together.

"From earlier. You said there was more than one?"

"Oh, right." Barry cleared his throat and looked off to the side. "It's nothing. I just thought you were talking about something else."

"Which would be...?" Cisco gestured for him to keep talking.

"I don't know. Yesterday morning. That nightmare. Both." Barry scratched the back of his head and sighed. "Cisco... are you really okay?"

"Yeah, totally." He smiled as he said it, but didn't meet Barry's eyes.

"Why did you ask to meet here?"

"Well, when I was working last night, it felt like someone was... in my apartment. Or just outside of it. Watching me. I actually had to get up and check for creepers." Cisco brushed his hair behind his ears. "I don't know, man, it really creeped me out."

"Really? Do you think someone was actually there? Like the man in yellow?" Cisco shrugged.

"Maybe. I might've just been paranoid."

"Or maybe dreams are messing with reality?" Barry suggested, concern growing. Cisco nodded slowly, acknowledging the possibility. "I'm just worried about you, dude."

"Yeah, well, I'll be fine. Eventually. Hey, can I leave the collar with you?" Cisco pulled it out of his pocket and held it up.

"Sure, man. You leaving?" Barry took the collar from him. Cisco stood up and nodded.

"Yeah, I've got some stuff to do." Which was a blatant lie, but Cisco needed some alone time to think things over. Barry stood up and walked him to the door. Barry paused before opening it.

"Are you sure you don't want to just stay here tonight? If there really was someone creeping on you, then I want you to be safe."

"I'll be fine. Trust me."

"Alright. Just remember, I'm only a phone call away." Cisco smiled and nodded. "Goodnight, dude. See you tomorrow." Cisco waved goodbye and walked to his car. He got in and drove off.

Cisco arrived at his apartment twenty or so minutes later. His headache was raging full blast now, and he was ready to pass out on the couch. But, knowing what would happen, he refused to give in to sleep.

He stood outside the door to his apartment, trying to find the correct key in the dark. He selected the right one then moved to unlock the door. When he went to insert the key, Cisco discovered that the door was already open, cracked slightly. He pushed on the door so that it opened all the way into the darkness.

"What the..." he whispered to himself. Cisco took a step back and pulled out his phone.

He called Barry. He stared into the dark as he listened to the dial tone, searching for any sign of life.

"Hello? Cisco?" Barry's voice sounded on the call.

"Hey, um, you said to call if I need anything? Well, I just got back to my place and the door was already open and I'm kinda freaked out." Cisco stepped inside of his apartment slowly, listening for anything suspicious.

"Oh my god, are you okay? Do you want me to come check it out?"

"No, that's okay, I'm going in right now. Just, if I get murdered, make sure my movie collection goes to a good home." Cisco advanced towards the light switch.

"Dude... you're not gonna get murdered." Barry's tone of voice suggested that he was rolling his eyes. "Seriously, do you want me to come over real quick?"

Cisco turned on the light. His blood ran cold. His heart seemed to stop.

The Reverse Flash was standing at the end of the hall, his top half still hidden in shadows, leaving only two, glowing red eyes in the dark.

"Oh, _fuck_." Cisco whispered.


	8. Chapter 8

Cisco ran to the door, phone still in hand. He knew running wouldn't do any good against a speedster, but it was better than standing there like a cow in a slaughterhouse.

"Cisco? What's wrong? Cisco?!" Barry's voice came faintly from the speaker.

The door slammed shut in front of him. The man in yellow stood there, vibrating to obscure his face. Cisco scrambled backwards, tripping over his own shoes in his haste to get away. He hit the floor and dropped his phone.

"Where is it?" The man in yellow rumbled. His deep, vibrating voice seemed to come from everywhere, amplified by the hallway.

Cisco sat there with his mouth open, too terrified to speak. His heart was beating so hard, he felt like he couldn't breath. The Reverse Flash grabbed him by his shirt and thrust him against the wall.

"Where is the collar?" He growled again, squeezing Cisco's neck. Now Cisco _literally_ couldn't breath. He struggled to free himself, clawing at the hands that held him.

Cisco was hit by another "I'm gonna die" train of thought, filled with regrets and unfulfilled wishes. He stared into the Reverse Flash's face, which was only inches away from his own. There was something familiar about him, but Cisco couldn't quite place it. His vision was starting to go fuzzy.

The front door slammed open. A blur of yellow lightning collided with the Reverse Flash. Cisco dropped to the floor, gasping for air.

The two speedsters crashed into the walls. Cisco only caught glimpses of the fight within the blur of motion and crackling lightning; Barry's face so full of anger as be punched his nemesis, the reverse smiling as he literally kicked the Flash across the room.

Within a couple minutes, the fight was over. Cisco could only imagine how long it had felt to them, with each second equivalent to an eternity in the speedforce.

Barry had the man in yellow pinned beneath him, the counter-collar firmly secured around his neck. The Reverse Flash knocked himself free, hitting Barry in the head with one free hand. The "thwack" was so loud, Cisco wasn't sure how Barry wasn't out cold.

Barry zipped away and, several miliseconds later, the Reverse Flash was bound with duct tape. Panting, Barry looked at Cisco, who was still in shock from the previous events.

Cisco slowly stood up and walked over to Barry. The man in yellow watched them, eyes burning with hatred.

"Ready?" Barry asked, glancing at Cisco. He didn't wait for a response. Barry reached down and pulled back the yellow mask.

"Jenkies." Cisco whispered, eyes wide.

Harrison Wells stared back at them, his face devoid of emotion. Cisco backed away.

Wells was the Reverse Flash? The man who had killed Barry's mother? The man who Cisco almost considered to be his father?

His head was reeling. Nothing made sense, but at the same time, everything did. Cisco just couldn't believe it.

Cisco looked over at Barry. Barry was angry, hurt. He seemed to be having a similar chain of thought to Cisco's.

Cisco pulled Barry up.

"Come on, let's get him locked up."

They brought the Reverse Flash to STAR Labs, using Cisco's car as a prison transport. They drove in silence, both lost in thoughts regarding the man in yellow's true identity.

Once at the lab, they locked Wells in the particle accelerator's cells. Cisco shut the vault door, no longer wanting Wells' cold, blue eyes to watch them.

Barry sat down on the ramp outside of the accelerator's door. He rubbed his eyes and rested his arms on his knees. Cisco locked the door and sat down next to Barry.

"Are you okay?" Cisco asked quietly.

"No." Barry sighed. "I just... I can't believe it's him."

"Yeah, me too." Cisco put his arm around Barry and pulled him closer, rubbing his thumb over Barry's shoulder soothingly. "But hey, we got him. Now you can get your dad free, and we're finally safe from him, and everything will be okay."

"Yeah..." Barry leaned into Cisco. They sat in silence for several minutes, simply letting each other's presence be a comfort.

It hit Cisco again, the fact that he had come within inches of death, and still, he hadn't told Barry how he felt. It wouldn't work out, he knew, but then... what if it did?

"Thanks for saving me again." Cisco said. "You're like my knight in shining red armor."

"Does that make you my beautiful damsel in distress?" Barry smiled.

"Shut up, dude, I was trying to be nice." Cisco laughed and playfully pushed Barry off of himself. Cisco stood up. "We should probably tell Caitlin and Joe about this, huh?"

"Yeah..." Cisco offered his hand to Barry, who took it and hoisted himself up. They began walking out of the room.

"Y'know," Cisco started, "I almost died tonight. Like Indiana-Jones-just-barely-escaping-a-giant-ass-boulder almost died." Cisco stopped walking, causing Barry to pause as well. "It just made me realize that there's a lot of things I regret. And there's a lot of things I haven't done yet, because I was too scared to do them. And if I don't do this now, I'm going to regret it forever."

"Do what?" Barry asked, tilting his head.

Cisco's heart was pounding. He could barely believe he was about to do what he was about to do.

He took a step towards Barry. Cisco looked into his eyes. Cisco placed his hands on Barry's shoulders and reached up on tiptoes to make up for the height difference. Their lips were centimeters from each other, but Cisco hesitated, doubt and uncertainty polluting his thoughts.

Surprisingly, Barry closed the distance. He wrapped his arms around Cisco's waist, pulling their bodies closer.

Barry's lips were soft, moving against his, gently pressing and sucking. Cisco cupped Barry's face with one hand, running his thumb along the cheekbone as their one long kiss broke into many small ones.

Barry trailed kisses along Cisco's jaw as Cisco ran his fingers through Barry's hair. Barry stopped at Cisco's ear.

"I've wanted to do that for so long." He whispered, hot breath tickling Cisco's ear.

Cisco smiled. He pressed another kiss on Barry's lips then pulled back to look at his face, taking in every feature.

"Me too."

They pulled apart and started walking again, hands clasped together. Though the night hadn't exactly been great, Cisco felt the ending was perfect.


End file.
